The day is particularly special in light of what Piedmont Park used to look like.

"If you were to look at the park in 1990, I think that you'd be pretty depressed," said Piedmont Park Conservancy COO Chris Nelson. "There hadn't been trees planted in the park for decades, and most of the buildings were in disrepair."

Two decades, and two master plans later, look at it now.

Piedmont Park today includes renovated buildings, a state-of-the-art pool, and a greater amount -- and greater diversity -- of green. The park also continues to flex its muscle with the Green Concerts, Music Midtown, and all sorts of events and festivals.

The results have come through cooperation. The latest expansion cost $42 million, nearly 90 percent of which came from private donations.

"There was a lot of folks out there who doubted whether the conservancy had the capacity to raise that much money," said Nelson, "and whether the public had the will to shepherd that along."

Nelson and the Piedmont Park Conservancy silenced those doubters. He says the bigger challenge will be raising money to maintain the park's new toys. Piedmont Park officials have more ambitious plans for Phase 2 of the expansion.